Za Shaloc.3908

I am a pretty diehard Rev player but have been a bit burnt out from it lately because I play it so much. I've been trying to experiment with other classes and have been having trouble finding something that really "clicks." So far, I would say the closest fit has been Signet of Undeath Necro with traited Signets of Suffering. Despite the chunky health cost, I really love being able to rez people with not only a fast cast time, but also a short cooldown. I have played around with different builds but since I have so little experience on Necromancer, I don't really trust my ideas and some of them seem to be flops so far as far as general effectiveness goes beyond the rezzes. What I am looking for is a relatively well-balanced build that can carry an impact in teamfights. I don't need a hyperoptimized zerg build, but moreso one that works well for small-scale and casual pug vs pug stuff. I don't have much of a preference for Core vs Reaper because I enjoy both, but I am not really wanting a Scourge build since it has less synergy with Signets of Suffering. I also don't have a preference for condi or power. As long as I have SoU and SoS, I am open minded, but I am pretty deadset on those two choices at the moment since that is where I am finding the most enjoyment. The idea of playing a Reaper's Onslaught build appeals to me so I can get the rezzes off even faster since cleave can be so heavy in WvW. I am not really looking for an optimized duel build by any means because I would rather try to optimize a different build for that. Hope this is specific enough! I will probably play with any suggestions I get to see what works best for me, but I'd like to hear suggestions from people who play the class more than I do.

I agree not just with Firebrand, but for all classes. I have always felt that outgoing healing modifiers and traits like Herald's Elevated Compassion are healthier for the game because while they make an impact in group play, they have no effect on one's own survivability, prohibiting unhealthy or undesirable builds to arise. I think a comprehensive sweep like this would require major reevaluation for builds' offense potential to be narrowed down because that support-as-self-defense stuff has become integral for a lot or builds in order to survive, but I do like the idea of further differentiating bunker builds from support builds, putting further emphasis on teamplay and protecting the support. Thats the sad part really most professions dont use their self sustain lines anymore even when the self sustain lines are good like warriors defensive line.I get that like Necros Death magic is questionable and Ele Earth magic is questionable both lines still could stand to be better by a long shot which is why people opt for blood and or water for sustain both of which are aimed more in the supportive aspect. Really i can only blame anet for over looking these things as the support lines do provide way more personal sustain than the personal defensive lines do. To be honest this just came to my mind a few weeks ago when i had to really sit and think why a support elite spec like firebrand has all the things it has while being able to do the damage it does. As well as why so many warriors run tactics yet clearly are not there to support while having the insane damage they have.Even herald was once considered more of a support yet was doing insane amounts of damage while being allowed to keep big chunks of its supportive boon power to be used selfishly.Then my mind started going to the past things people dont use as much anymore. Tempest, Druid, Chrono, Scourge... all of which were designed with the idea of support yet were capable of being busted as heck when built under the idea of not doing supportive roles and holding some big portion of their supportive power as their own means of sustain. I would say .... ANET stop designing new support professions, skills, traits and stuff for your game till you figure out how to not let people use it straight up selfishly cause it breaks balance lol.Yeah, I would say this is largely due to the fact that ANet attempts to design e-specs with versatility in mind. They want to have the support-esque e-specs be applicable to a variety of different roles, generally speaking. We can see this with Chrono, Herald, Renegade, Tempest, Druid, Scourge, Firebrand, Scrapper, and probably more that I am forgetting. Considering we only have two different e-specs to choose from, I can understand why they'd do this, but I would definitely say this has a big implication on balance. Roles become a lot more muddled and have a potential for too much versatility. I suppose part of this has to do with this game being originally designed as an alternative to the MMO holy trinity. Ultimately, I would like to see a further emphasis on well-executed tradeoffs, such as FB only having access to one tome through the GM (but having it interact differently), traits like Herald's Draconic Echo providing a significant sacrifice for the benefit it brings, etc. This is just a general design philosophy that I consider to be healthy. I am absolutely not a fan of these one-size-fits-all builds with too much of everything. I would say that despite the garbage mess that the e-spec is in, Druid's GMs are a good reflection of that: each offers considerable benefit for a specific purpose without over inflating the general kit.

I agree not just with Firebrand, but for all classes. I have always felt that outgoing healing modifiers and traits like Herald's Elevated Compassion are healthier for the game because while they make an impact in group play, they have no effect on one's own survivability, prohibiting unhealthy or undesirable builds to arise. I think a comprehensive sweep like this would require major reevaluation for builds' offense potential to be narrowed down because that support-as-self-defense stuff has become integral for a lot or builds in order to survive, but I do like the idea of further differentiating bunker builds from support builds, putting further emphasis on teamplay and protecting the support.

Yeah, I would have expected it to be higher, but hey, we have a pretty small sample size here. Could be that people are so tired of running Shiro since it has been so integral to PvP/WvW. It's definitely up there for me, and it's hard for me to create builds without it because of the mobility, but Ventari and Mallyx make me truly feel like I'm embodying the legend so that's why I'd rank them above Shiro. I'm with you on the dancing Charr party though. Kalla is definitely the biggest disappointment of the class for me, and I would selfishly be ecstatic if they reworked it to something completely different. Visually obtrusive AoE spam. No thanks.

Thanks for the replies everybody. It's cool to see differing opinions. I ended up choosing Ventari because it is originally what brought me to the class and what has stood out to me as the most unique and notable. I leveled up my first Rev to 80 as Ventari, being stupid enough to invest heavily into healing power along the way because I liked its thematic so much. Ventari is also what I started and climbed fractal levels with before its big buffs, as well as how I started playing Rev in WvW. Visually, I find it stunning. The color palette is absolute perfection and the animations are beautiful, particularly Natural Harmony and Protective Solace. The sound effects are beautiful as well. Sadly, I play Shiro, Mallyx, and Jalis more often now than I do Ventari, but I still do love the legend. I'm deeply hoping that the devs have thorough understanding and experience with the legend when evaluating it for the big incoming balance patch. Second, I would probably have to choose Mallyx. Being an absolute condition-manipulating monster is a joy. Dare I say the legend feels almost perfect in its current iteration. There's nothing like stripping a Firebrand of all his boons and watching them crumble, pulling together a bunch of enemies and blowing them up, coating allies with resistance, and throwing the enemies' condis back in their face. Not to mention that mace and axe also feel incredible to use. Also, it's hilarious to see how quick the torment stacks can add up with the elite. Condi Rev is just a pure blast to play.

Lol! Yeah, I didn't vote because I myself can't really decide. Basically all but Kalla. Curious to see what others feel.

This subforum has been rather dead lately, so I figured I'd make something a bit lighthearted. What is your favorite legend? What about it makes you enjoy it over the others?

I'm trying to stray away from Warclaw or no Warclaw, because the fact of the matter is that Arenanet has given us Warclaw. And if it isn't apparent at this point, Arenanet is not going to remove Warclaw from the game. The point of what I'm posting here, is to point out that Lance made it worse. Nothing more, nothing less. I am not advocating for the removal of Warclaw. Trust me, as much as I would love for it to go, I know it is here to stay forever and I have long accepted that. I am stating that your issues are related more specifically to Warclaw balance (non-Lance), and that the slated changes for it that they have proposed should help make your frustrations (which I share for the most part) less severe. With slower mount speeds (normalized to the enemy-territory speed) and one less dodge, it will be significantly harder to catch up to enemies after OOC-ing, meaning there will be fewer opportunities to use Lance. This will make mobility more impactful for disengages. Naturally not as much as pre-Warclaw, but it will still lessen the chase potential of Warclaw and the relevance of Lance.

Yes, let's make a poll and ask if people quit WvW because of Warclaw or because of Lance. If more quit because of Lance, I'll give your OP a thumbs up. As I already said, your problems with Lance seem to actually be more related to Warclaw in general, which enable low-mobility players to catch up to the enemy. What's a Necro going to do that is left in the dust by a running Thief if the Warclaw is slower and has less dodges (which increase overall speed)? Lance from 2000 range and have it fail while continuing to lose distance? The Warclaw is the vehicle that allows for your problems with Lance. Lance is easily dodgeable, LoSable, has a 30s cooldown, and you can completely nullify it if you maneuver around your enemies and cause too great of a sudden shift in direction for the lance to follow.

I make a lot of Revs (the class I play 90% of the time) because I am really finicky with fashion and get bored of looks rather easily. I have two veteran Revs that I keep for birthday gifts (and that I still use a lot), but I'll cycle between random alts very often. When I get bored of them and don't foresee them being long-term investments, I'll just delete them so I can create new ones. All it takes is for me to tome them up, use the WvW vendor to max out the e-specs, and transfer the gear, so I don't consider deleting them to be a big deal. Making new characters is a fun way for me to maintain interest in the class without looking at the same thing forever. And yes, I change up their individual looks a lot too. Only thing I regret about deleting characters is that I deleted my oldest ones way back when before I knew about birthday gifts being account bound, so I am like 3 years behind on the gifts.

it should, due to the crazy block & invulv spam in this game. This wouldn't affect invulns at all. Block spam, eh, I mean what would that apply to? Guardians? Aegis is an important component to their survivability and it already has counters like multi-hit attacks and boon rips/corrupts, and it has poor scaling in 1vX environments. Does FB have a bit too much of it? Maybe, but only FB and not core Guard. Only thing I guess I could see block spam applying to is Purity of Purpose Engis converting burns over and over, but that's moreso an issue of the individual trait. Projectile denial is a whole 'nother story. In general though, blocks should be a reliable way of mitigating damage with a select amount of skills that counterplay it. Adding unblockable spam is not healthy to the game. Example? Soulbeast's old Unstoppable Union. That trait was straight up toxic and enabled way too much undeniable cheese damage. Shiro Revs already have an on-demand unblockable enabler: Phase Traversal. That, and then we have stuff like Vengeful Hammers, Blinding Truths, and Banish Enchantment. More than enough. Rev doesn't need more. what about Warriors "Signet of Might"-active? Is it balanced to have full 6seconds of unblockable hits? (while getting might &on 25sec cooldown, just to mention)This skill, along with Signet of the Hunt for Ranger, are surely annoying to fight against if you are expecting your blocks to, well...block, but sacrificing a utility skill is actually a big deal if you are trying to create a balanced build. Rangers taking Signet of the Hunt are usually either total noobs with a terrible build, or one-shot snipers. I don't know much about Warriors, but in my experience fighting them, I only ever see this used on one-shot rifle Wars. The same applies though: each utility skill carries significant weight, and not taking well-rounded skills makes your build much more specialized and much less versatile. A Sic 'Em Sniper Soulbeast taking both Sic 'Em and Signet of the Hunt means that they really only have one flex spot. Meaning, if the burst is fails, then the Ranger is much more vulnerable to counterpressure. Using Soulbeast as a further example, it makes a huge difference in a build's overall viability if given a choice between the old Unstoppable Union and Signet of the Hunt. Unstoppable Union not only gave unblockability, but also a stunbreak. The trait was boosted for an adept major. Signet of the Hunt means I can fight a Ranger without Dolyak Stance, a Survival skill, etc. I'd much rather that.Furthermore, for a class like Warrior and Ranger, their long-range weapons are almost entirely projectile-based. Revenant's hammer has three high-damaging non-projectile skills in its arsenal (assuming a functional CoR), which is part of what makes it so potent in zergplay due to all the reflects running rampant. If a longbow Ranger or a rifle/longbow Warrior wants to have a higher chance at relevance in a zerg, unblockable signets are actually a big deal in order to actually land damage at crucial points (unless poking squirrels or an unprotected tail). If a Rev really wants unblockables for certain skills, they have three options: Malicious Reprisal, Phase Traversal, and Ancient Echo. In my eyes, that is sufficient because due to the nature of legend skills, there is no overt sacrifice the class can make that is worth justifying a timed unblockable effect without overpowercreeping the class.

it should, due to the crazy block & invulv spam in this game. This wouldn't affect invulns at all. Block spam, eh, I mean what would that apply to? Guardians? Aegis is an important component to their survivability and it already has counters like multi-hit attacks and boon rips/corrupts, and it has poor scaling in 1vX environments. Does FB have a bit too much of it? Maybe, but only FB and not core Guard. Only thing I guess I could see block spam applying to is Purity of Purpose Engis converting burns over and over, but that's moreso an issue of the individual trait. Projectile denial is a whole 'nother story. In general though, blocks should be a reliable way of mitigating damage with a select amount of skills that counterplay it. Adding unblockable spam is not healthy to the game. Example? Soulbeast's old Unstoppable Union. That trait was straight up toxic and enabled way too much undeniable cheese damage. Shiro Revs already have an on-demand unblockable enabler: Phase Traversal. That, and then we have stuff like Vengeful Hammers, Blinding Truths, and Banish Enchantment. More than enough. Rev doesn't need more.

That would be far too good IMO. Traits like these are not fun to fight against. The fact that you only have 2 charges means you have to be deliberate with the skills you choose to use it with, which is good. Similarly to Malicious Reprisal, people seem to undervalue core Shiro's unblockable effect from Ancient Echo because it has only 2 charges, but 2 charges is enough to swing a fight with. Unblockable Jade Winds? Yes please. 2 seconds of straight unblockable attacks? That's just too much for the class.

Tubby is one of the few Revenants that has made me feel like a legit bad player. Mark is another that I remember made mincemeat of me the one time I encountered him in WvW. Granted, I have lost to plenty of other Revs before, but it is definitely important to consider that he is a genuinely good player and he could be outmatching the other players.With that said, as a Rev main: yes, Rev damage in WvW is pretty nutty. Aside from skills like Sword 2/Staff 5 being unsplit for WvW, I'd say this is due to a few reasons.-Swap damage is just nutty when you combine stuff like Hydro & Air Sigils & Song of the Mists. As a Rev you have access to shadowsteps, which makes actually landing the swap burst extremely easily. Not only this, but you can get almost double value from on-swap sigils as a Rev because of legend swapping triggering them too if you time your swaps correctly. Combine this with a fat quickness-boosted precision strike and you're quick toast. Hydro carries Rev in WvW more than it does most other classes.-One of meta Shiro Rev's biggest weaknesses is condis, and the PvE/WvW cleansing sigil cleansing 3 conditions makes it much less vulnerable. This makes it easier to go all-in for damage.-Incensed Response is busted in WvW. By all means, nerf this dumb trait. It has far too great of synergy with Herald. 25 might is way too easy to upkeep and this trait is a major culprit for this. With all that said though, most other classes don't have the harsh WvW split either: Holos, Warriors, Soulbeasts, etc. Condi Mirages get hard carried by WvW stats, sigils, and runes. Scourge is basically the only spec that is screwed by WvW balance as far as dueling goes. IMO the only class-specific nerf that needs to happen without any other nerfs to other classes is Incensed Response. There are some other outliers for sure, but let's be honest: this is WvW we are talking about and balance there is FUBAR. Basically every class needs to be brought down several notches there.

Steadfast Rejuvenation...bad? WIth all due respect, have you tried the trait since it has been reworked? It is an amazing addition to the traitline and to Rev's kit. Ret is a solid traitline to take in a lot of builds thanks largely to this bad boi.

Condi transfers and boon steals are fine as is. If you want to take advantage of these, run more condition damage or concentration. Condi builds like condi Rev and Necro get big value from the current functionality, and as a big condi Rev player, I'd argue that this is a very important component to the build's success. There's much lesser value to absorbing a bunch of condis from your allies only to have them tickle your enemies upon transferring them because they were all running full power, even though you are running deep in condition damage.

Sand Savant was an inherently toxic trait ever since its conception that should have never even made it into beta weekend. Instead of nipping the bud early on, they decided to butcher the entire e-spec along the way. Not that I miss this e-spec having more of a presence, but my heart goes out to all you Necro players that have this sad husk of an e-spec.

I would love to see some sort of tactic disabler, like to have one that allows you to channel a radar-bypasser that ignores the Marked mechanic for Watchtower/Sentry for X minutes. Give it a long channel time, a cooldown per person, and perhaps a certain number of charges so zergs can't totally abuse it. Perhaps there could instead be a new banner that allows for stuff like that, like granting immunity to radar detection to x people within x radius, along with other stuff like Dolyak Interceptor and Dolyak Reinforcer skills. Skills with zero combat relevance but actual practical skills to help your server succeed. Make it actually worth defending, and worth killing by giving a bonus to those who kill the banner carrier. In general, it would be nice to see stuff become more engaging and less fire-and-forget.

Considering they have been visually differentiating more and more skills between friendly and enemy, I think this is a solid request. On this note, can we please have FB ToC 3 & 4 visually differentiated as well.

I like their proposed changes quite a bit and think they are pretty on-point in addressing what needs to be addressed with it. Additionally, I would like to see a ~30 second restriction on mounting up after using a waypoint. The maps weren't built for Warclaw and it is far too easy to contest territories nearby a waypoint if you have people staggering in to delay the cap. Although I enjoy the mount stomp, many find it to be poor implementation. Perhaps as a middleground, they could add a slight delay before stomping. From the moment this delay occurs up until the stomp occurs, maybe make the Warclaw vulnerable to CC so you can actually stop a pounce that is about to happen if you time properly. Alternatively, they could tweak the animation so the stomp actually has something like the rider jumping off the mount and then stomping upon hitting the ground, so the stomper is actually vulnerable during this small period. Again could accomplish the same thing, but at this point health would be a liability as well Could be something like jumping off the mount with a flag you impale the ground with.

Kitty ballerina jump finisher? I'm in.

Wow, lots of negativity here. Nice video. It's cool to see the fights from different perspectives. I'm on NA so have never seen you in action, but you all seem mechanically sound. Keep up the good content.

7 months later. Any reason for this?

Nice vids as always!

Three nerfs/changes I'd like to see: Remove damage reduction from Dolyak Stance. The skill is overstacked and never needed this. If the damage reduction stays, then the movement impairment immunity should move to Griffon Stance (which should then have its might procs removed). Reduce the CD back to 30 in PvP if it feels too undertuned there.Remove passive Signet of Stone or move it to a different traitline. Marksmanship should be full committal to damage and should not have a lifesaver passive in it.Add a 1/4s or 1/2s cast time to merged Smoke Assault OR reduce the range to ~450. This skill is too versatile in its current iteration: damage, evade, gap closer, detargetter. It being instant is the most egregious in my opinion.